Reed-organ



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. S. MOSES. REED ORGAN N0, 574,040. Patented Deo. 29, 1896.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. S. MOSES.

REED ORGAN Patented Deo. 29

:Rs cn. pHoro-Mmc. wnsnma (No Model.) 4 sheetssneet 3. W. S. MOSES.

REED EGAN.

No. 574,040. Patented 1300.29, 1896.

l(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet, 4.

W. s. MOSES. l

REED ORGAN.

No. 574,040. Patented Deo. 29, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

VILLIAM S. MOSES, OF TRACY, MINNESOTA.

REE D-ORG'AN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 574,040, dated December29, 1896.

Application filed November Z9, 1895, Serial No. 570,491. (No model.)

[o all wwm/ t may concern.-

Be it known that l, VILLIAM S. MOSES, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Tracy, in the county of Lyon and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inReed-Organs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a reed-organ in which aplurality of reeds are employed for each tone, the reeds beingpositioned in independent reed-chambers which are provided with valvesconnected to levers operated by the bellows, so that said valves can beopened successively to increase the volume of sound.

The invention also embodies the application to such a reed-organ of animproved substituting and transposing keyboard.

The invention consists in providing` a reedorgan with a plurality ofreed-chambers the valves of which are connected to a lever operated by aswinging board forming a part of the bellews,the valves being connectedto the lever so that they will he opened successively.

The invention further consists in connecting to the swinging board meansfor indicating the number of valves which are opened.

The invention further consists in the improved substituting andtransposin g keyboard, which is adapted to be used in connection withthe reed-organ; and the invention further consists in the constructionand combinationbf the parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, Figurel is a vertical sectional view of a reed-organ constructed in accordancewith my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, parts being broken awayto show the mechanism for shifting the substituting and transposingkeyboard. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation. Fig. 4 is a detail plan view ofthe reed mechanism. Figs. 5 and G are detail views of the means employedfor holding the coupler-boards in operative position, and Figs. 7, S,and 9, detail views of the means for holding the substituting andtransposing keyboard at different elevations.

The supporting-frame ofthe organ may be of any suitable or approvedconstruction, and it is provided with a transverse board A, upon whichthe key-levers A' are pivoted in the usual manner. Above the forwardends of the key-levers A is mounted the substituting andtransposingkeyboard hereinafter described.

B designates a transverse board which is secured at its ends to the sidepieces of the frame of the organ and supportsv the reed mechanism. Uponthe board B at its front and rear edges are secured strips b, to whichthe sounding-hoard C is attached, leaving an intervening space formingthe soundingchamber. Along the center of the soundinghoard C is attachedan upright strip C,

which is provided with a series of vertical openings c, whichcommunicate fwith the soundingchamber through corresponding openings inthe sounding-board C. The upper part of the openings c is enlarged, andwithin said enlarged portion of each opening c tits a piston c, thelower end of which is provided with a packing which abuts against theshoulder formed by the enlarged upper portion of the openings c whensaid piston is in its normal position. The pistons c' are connected tothe rear end of the key-levers A by rods a, so that by depressing theforward end of a key-lever the corresponding piston will be elevated forthe purpose hereinafter mentioned.

In the strip C, on opposite sides of each opening c and at differentdistances above the shoulder therein, are ports c2 and c3, which connectthe openings C. with independent airpassages formed on each side 'of thestrip C' by the vertical reed-boards D and the vertical projections CXof said strip, a continuation of the air-passages on each side of thestrip C being formed by the horizontal reed-boards D', which are supported at a suitable distance above the sounding-board C by means ofprojections CZX, corresponding with the projections cX. Through thereed-boards D and D extend openings d, over which the reed-plates E areplaced, so that the free ends of the tongues e of the reeds will be onaline with IOO said openings. On the outerside ofthe reedboards D and Dare secured strips F to form reed-chambers through which the air passesto vibrate the tongues e, as hereinafter described. The strips F areprovided with openings which communicate with the reedchambers, saidopenings being covered by valves I F', which are operated by levers G G,pivoted to supports carried by the rear strip b and eoi'lnectetll toaswinging board forming part of the bellows, as hereinafter described.The rodsj", which connect the valves Ii" to the levers G, extend throughaperttiu'es in said levers and are provided on their outer ends withadjustable heads or stops f, against which the levers strike for drawingupon said rods. lt will be noted that the rear ends of the rodsf extendbeyond the levers G at different distances, and by this arrangementJwhen but a slight movement of the levers is made, but a single valve orpair of valves will be opened7 while a complete movement of said leverswill open all the valves or mutes successively.

To the under side of the transverse board 13, near its rear edge, issecured a strip h, `from which the bellows ll is supported, thesounding-chamber above the board 13 commu nicating with the bellows byopenings h', which extend through the boa-rd B and strip 7l. The rearboard ll.' of the bellows is hinged to the strip 71 and dependstherefrom, while the front board ll2 thereof is at an inclination, asshown in Fig. l, and is rigidly secured to the strip 71, and to the sidepieces of the organ-frame, the boards ll and lll being connected attheir sides and lower ends by a flexible fabric or folded leather 71,3.Upon the board lli" of the bellows ll is a supliilemeutal bellows, theobject of which is to exhaust the air from the bellows or chantber H.The supplemental bellows consists of a board I, which is hinged at itslower end to the board ll2 and is provided with the usual folded leather'i a-nd with a elapwalve t". The supplemental bellows communicates withthe main bellows by an opening through the board il?, which is coveredby a clap-valve, and said supplemental bellows is operated by pedals KK, which extend through the front board of the organ- `frame and areconnected to the board I by tlexible connections the board beingprovided with projections if, to which the connect ions 7n areattz'tched. 'lhe supplemental bellows is held normally closed by aspring 1'", and it will be noted that though l have described but asingle supplemental bellows there are two employed, which are operatedby the indepent'lont pedals K.

L designates a vertical bar or support, which is rigidlyseeu red to therear edge of the board l; and is provided at its upper and lower endswith guideafollers l', over which passes a cord M, which is attached atone end to the hinged board ll and at its other end to a sliding indieatorM, having a pointerm, which extends through a slot in the upperfront board N of the organ-frame and travels over an indicatt'rr-plateill?, liig. lllv this arrangement, the pointer 'nt will indicate thenumber of valves or m tites F' ol the reet'l-clntntbers which areopened, as the levers which operate the valves and the cord thatoperates the indieator are all connected tothe hinged board Il" of thebellows ll.

'lhe operation ofso much of my invention as hereinbel'ore described isasfollows: When the forward end of one ol the keydevers N is depressed, itwill raise the correspontliug piston c' above the ports c` and c, andthe extent to which the bellows have been opel ated to exhaust the airin the chamber ll will determine the volume of sound, or rather thenumber of tongues e which are vibrated to produce the desired tone. rlheair being drawn into the reed-chamber vibrales` the tongue c by passingthrough the opei'iiug rl, from which it goes to the sounding-eham berthrough the port c-2 or c and vertical opening C. Thus it will be notedthat the reeds are played by the suction of air caused b v the bellowsll, and the performer is advised of the number of valves or unites thatare opened by glancing at the indicator or poin ter m. [y locating theports f1? and c one above the other a partial depression of a key-leverwill open but one of the ports, and consefptcntly allow but two sets ofreeds to be operated upon.

rlhe keyboard which l employl for operating the key-levers A isconstructed somewhat similar to that shown in my latent No. H12/2, datedJuly i), 18H5, certain changes being embodied to adapt it for this use.

The board O is supported at its rear end upon a cross-bar o and at itsforward end resls upon across-piece ll), said board carrying the keyslt, tracl e1.'-pins r, and coupler-brnu'ds S, as well as anupwardly-projecting bar o, which passes through a slot in the board Nand etigages a stop-pin u, let into one of a series of holes in theboard N, these parts being constructed and arranged as shown anddescribed in the patent above referred to. The `forward end of the boardO is tilted upward by a pair of levers 'l T, which are operated from thepedal T through the interposition of a lever 'l"" and conneeting-rods tand t'. When the forward end of the board O is raised, it can be slid toeither the right or left by the pedals Y V, which are eotmeeted to across-piece Y by rods t u, the crosspiece having an ell) )\i\le\'cr r,which is connected at its upper end to rods t"2 rl, which extend fromeach end of the boardv O, being attached to depending lugs thereon. lythis arranget ment when the board is ltilted it can be slid to the rightby depressing the footpedal "v" on the right and tothe left bydepressing the pedal on the left, the movement rocking the cross-pieceV', which will oscillate the arm 'tf'.

rlhe coupler-boards S are raised into an operative position by arocleshaft lV, having inwardly-projectiug arms which bear against theunderside ofthe coupler-boards, the rockshaft being operated bya pedalIV', which is connected to a depending arm w of the rockshaft by theinterposition of a bell-crank lever w' and connecting-rods 102. In orderto hold the Acoupler-boards in an operative position and thus permit theperformer to use his feet to pedal the bellows, I pivot upon the innerside of the front board of the organframe a swinging bar or latch Y,having notches y at its lower end which engage the pedal W and hold itdepressed. This latch is provided with a transverse slot through which across-bar y' passes for guiding the latch, said cross-bar beingsupported by lugs or brackets y2. The latch is provided with aforwardly-projectingoperating-arm yg, which extends through an openingin the front board of the organ-frame, and to the outer side of saidfront board is pivoted a catch g4, which is adapted to engage the armv3/3 and hold the latch Y against the action of a spring g5, connectedthereto. A swinging bar or latch X is also provided for supporting thesubstituting and transposing keyboard at different elevations, and asthe pedal which tilts the keyboard is pivoted to the front board of. theorgan-f rame said latch is provided with a head an, which engages theunder edge of the pedal to hold the rear portion thereof elevated. Theswinging bar or latch X is provided with a forwardly-projecting arm 0c',that extends through an opening in the front board of the organ-frame,and by means of this arm the latch can be operated to disengage it fromthe pedal. By this arrangement the forward end of the keyboard can beheld in a tilted position, so that when the keys a-re operated upon theywill depress the key-levers to a certain distance and thus raise thepistons c to a limited extent to uncover as much otthe ports c2 c3 asdesired. When the parts are arranged so that the operation of the keyswill uncover only the ports c3, but two reeds will be acted upon toproduce a tone.

To the Lipper part of the frame of the organ is hinged a transversestrip Z, which overlies the keys and is padded on its under edge toreceive the force of the returning keys and arrest them by the inertiaof the strip. This strip also provides for holding the keys on the samehorizontal plane.

The reed-organ hereinbefore described provides an instrument in whichthe volume of sound can be increased and diminished at the will of theperformer, and the parts are so constructed and arranged that they areoperated by pedals.

IIavin g thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination in a reed-organ, of airexhaust mechanism having amovable board, the board being connected to a plurality of valvescovering the reed-chambers, whereby the movement of the board will openthe valves successively.

2. In a reed-organ, the combination, of airexhaust mechanismcommunicating with a sounding-chamber, a plurality of reed-chambershaving valves, and means substantially as shown connected to theair-exhaust mechanism for operating the valves successively.

3. In a reed-organ, the combination, of airexhaust mechanismcommunicating with the sounding-chamber, the air-exhaust mechanismhaving a swinging board, a plurality of reed-chambers and passagesconnecting said reed-chambers with the sounding-chamber, valves,covering openings in the reed-chambers, and a lever, or levers,connected to the swinging board and to the valves, substantially asshown and described.

et. In a reed-organ, the combination, of airexhaust mechanism, asounding chamber communicating therewith, and a plurality ofreed-chambers connected to the soundingchamber and provided with valves;together with means connected to the valves and to a board of theair-exhaust mechanism for opening the valves successively as said boardis moved, and an indicator or slide for indicatin the number of valvesthat are opened.

5. In a reed-organ, the combination, of airexhaust mechanism, a soundingchamber communicating therewith, a strip having a series of verticalopenings and ports which lead to the reedchambers, valves coveringopenings in the reed-chambers, and means connected to the valves and toa swinging board of the air-exhaust mechanism, substantially as shownand described.

6. The combination in a reed-organ, of a sounding-chamber connected withmeans for exhausting the air therein, a strip having a series ofopenings communicating with the sounding chamber and ports at differentheights or distances apart which lead to the reeds, and pistons locatedin the openings and adapted to uncover the ports successively,substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination in a reed-organ, of a sounding-chamber connected withmeans for exhausting the air therein, a strip having a series ofopenings or passages communicating with the sounding-chamber and portsat ditferent heights or distances apart which lead from said passages tothe reeds, pistons located in the openings and adapted to uncover theports successively, and means for operating the pistons, substantiallyas shown and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination in a reed-organ, of a sounding-chamber, a striphaving a series of openings communicating with the soundingchamber andports which lead to the reeds, valves covering openings in thereed-chambers; together with mechanism for exhausting the air in thesounding-chamber, and

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means connected to the air-exhaust mechanism and to the valves of thereed-chambers for opening said valves successively, substantially asshown and for thc purpose set forth.

f). rl'he combination in a reed-organ having a series of reed-chambersand a soundingchamber communicating with each other by passages andports, the ports bein g located at different heights, substantially asshown; of pistonslocated in the air-passagcsand adapted to be moved overthe ports; key-levers for operating the pistons, and mechanism forexhausting the air in the sounding-ehamber, substantially as shown andfor the purpose set forth.

10. The combination in a reed-organ having a series ot' reet'l-chambersand a soundingchamber communicating with each other by passages andports, substantially as shown; of pistons located in the air-passagesand connected to operating-levers :for uncovering the ports; valvescovering openings in the reedchambers; together with mechanism for e.\:-hausting the air in the sounding'-chamber, and means connected to theair-exhaust meehanism and to the valves l'or opening said valvessuccessively, lor the purpose set forth.

ll. The combination in a reed-organ having a series of reed-chambers anda soundingchamber communicating with each other by passages and ports,substantially as shown; ol pistons located in the air-passages andconnected to operating-lm'crs for uncovering the ports; valves coveringopenings in the reedchambers; bellows 'for exhausting the air in thesounding-chamber, said bellows having" a swiiiiging board, and meansconnected to the swinging board and to the valves for operating thevalves by exhausting the air in the bellows, substantially as shown andvfor the purpose set foi-th.

l2. The combination in a reed-organi having a series oi'reet'l-chaml'icrs and a soun ding- Chamber communicating with each otherby passages and ports, substantially as shown; oi' pistons located inthe air-passages and connected to operating-levers for uncovering theports; valves covering openings in the reedchambers; together with abellows or chamber located below the sonnding-chamber and communica-tingtherewith, said bellows or chamber having a swinging board andsuppleinental bellows for exhausting the air therein; and meansconnecting the swinging board with the valves of the recd-chanibers,substantially as shown and for the purpose set forth.

The combination in a reed-organ having a series of reed-chambers and asoundingchamber communicating with each other by passages and ports,substantially as shown 5 of pistons located `in the air-passages andconnected to operating-levers Al`o r uncovering the ports; valvescovering openings in the reedchambers; bellows for exhausting air fromthe sounding-chamber, said bellows having a swinging' board which isconnected to the valves of the reed-chambers `i'or opening themsuccessively; and an indicator located at the front of the organ-franieand connected to thc swinging board for indicating the number of.'valves that are open.

l-i. The combination in a reed-organ having a series ol reeds located onopposite sides ot passages which communicate with the sounding-chamber,ports connecting the 'passages with the reed-chambers and located atdilt'erent planes, pistons located in the passages and connected tooperating-keys, said. pistons being adapted to cover and uncover theports; together with means for exhausting the air in thesounding-chamber, substantially as shown and for the purpose set iorh.

l5. The combination in a reed-organ having a series of reeds located onopposite sides ol' 'passages which communicate with the soundinglchamber, ports connecting said reeds with said passages, and pistonslocateffl in the passages and operated to uncover the portssuccessively; ot a substituting and transposing keyboard having keyswhich arc connected to the pistons for ol'icrating thc saine; and meansfor tilting the forward end ol the keyboard, substantially as shown andfor the purpose set forth.

1G. The combination in a reed-organ, ol' a substituting and transposingkeyboard snpported at its rear end upon a bar; levers pivoted to theorgan-frame so that they will engage the under side ol the kt'iyboard; apedal connected to the levers substantially as shown; a pivoted latchhaving notches which engage the pedal and a slot through which aguide-bar passes, a spring for throwing the latch in engagement with thepedal, and a catch for holding the latch againstthe action of thespring', substantially as shown and described.

17. In a reed-organ, the e nnbination, ol' a transverse strip Z hingedto the frame so as to overlie the keys, the under edge ol. the stripbeing provided with a pad, substantially as shown and for the purposeset iforth.

In testimony whereoiI I al'ix my signature in presence oli' twowitnesses.

XVILLIAM MOSES. XVtnesses: i

W. H. Jnsscr,

HELEN E. Jnsscr.

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